Category Archives: Safety & Compliance

April is National Distracted Driver Awareness Month

Distracted driving continues to be a leading problem on roadways in the United States. In 2015, 3,477 people were killed and 391,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers. The use of electronic devices while driving continues to be the leading cause of distracted driving. The U.S. Department of Transportation is leading the effort across the nation to stop texting and cell phone use while operating a vehicle. Text messaging requires your visual, manual, and cognitive attention, making it “the most alarming distraction.”

The ELD Implementation National Tour will feature “subject matter experts leading driver-focused presentations and panel discussions on ELD implementation,” the agency said in its announcement

Tour stops include coming industry trade events with an interactive booth, where FMCSA staff members will answer questions and provide compliance-related materials and review drivers’ and carriers’ responsibilities.

Lessons from truck drivers

Students gain perspective & safety tips for driving around trucks

In a recent article featured in the Pocono Record Writer, career truck drivers shared their experience with high school students to give them a new perspective on sharing the roads with big rigs.

While sitting behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer, one 10th-grade student after looking at the mirrors said, “you can’t see anything with the mirrors.” Drivers pressed upon students that knowing the capabilities of tractor-trailers and how the big rigs operate can save your life and that of others.

Students received firsthand experience sitting behind the wheel of these large trucks. Most of us encounter a tractor-trailer on the road every day so it is essential to understand the limitations of these large trucks. Many high school students, as new drivers, can be intimidated by tractor-trailers. Programs like this help to familiarize students with driving around tractor-trailers and encourage good road safety behavior.

4 Benefits of ELDs

Tips on how to make ELDs work for you

Initially, many owner-operators were turned off by the idea of having ELDs installed in their trucks. But now, due to the FMCSA ELD rule that requires all trucking companies have to get ELDs installed by December 2017, there are advantages to moving to e-logs sooner rather than later. Here are 5 reasons to make the jump now.

Road safety is a top concern among truck drivers.

Truck drivers led all occupations in workplace fatalities in 2015.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers had the most workplace fatalities of all occupations in 2015. In total, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers had 745 fatal work injuries during the year. Roadway fatalities were up 9 percent in 2015 over 2014 to 1,264 fatal work injuries, and 629 of these fatalities involved a semi, tractor-trailer or tanker truck, the report states. The number of workplace fatalities in 2015 was the highest since 2008.

Truck Side Guards Help To Save Lives

In a recent NBC news article highlighting the fact that 200 people are killed each year from side-underride crashes, calls for congress to act; requiring side guard safety devices be mandatory on all trucks as it is in other countries.

Research shows that truck side-guards – vehicle-based safety devices designed to keep pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists from being run over by a large truck’s rear wheels in a side-impact collision are effective in reducing fatalities.

Volpe, the National Transportation Systems Center, is advancing side guard adoption in the United States by conducting research and partnering with cities to help deploy side guards and other technologies that address the deadliest road crashes: those between large trucks and pedestrians or bicyclists.They are also building a national network of early adopters in the area of truck side guards and other truck safety technologies related to pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists—known as vulnerable road users.

When there is a collision between a large truck and a pedestrian or bicyclist, the impact often happens on the side of the truck. Side guards help keep pedestrians and bicyclists from falling between the axles. After the UK enacted a national side guard requirement in the 1980’s, bicyclist fatalities decreased 61% and pedestrian fatalities decreased 20% for side impacts with large trucks.

Air Brake Systems – Part 2

Steps to improve the stopping distance performance for trucks

49 CFR Part 571 Amends the FMVSS on air brake systems to improve the stopping distance performance of truck tractors. The rule requires the vast majority of new heavy truck tractors to achieve a 30 percent reduction in stopping distance compared to currently required levels. For these heavy truck tractors (approximately 99 percent of the fleet), the amended standard requires those vehicles to stop in not more than 250 feet when loaded to their gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and tested at a speed of 60 miles per hour (mph). For a small number of very heavy severe service tractors, the stopping distance requirement will be 310 feet under these same conditions. In addition, this final rule requires that all heavy truck tractors must stop within 235 feet when loaded to their “lightly loaded vehicle weight” (LLVW).